The pack house felt busy and loud again after the training in the pits. The Warriors moved through the halls with a new energy. I could hear steel ringing in the yard and the steady thud of fists on leather. They were sharper with me now, watchful but also respectful. It helped quiet a part of me that had always felt small here.
I tried to focus on that. I tried not to think about the book on Kael’s desk or the page that spoke of the Command Stone. But the words would not leave me. They threaded through my thoughts with every step I took. If someone found that stone before I did, they could bend me like a branch in the wind. It made my skin feel too tight.
By midday, I had finished a long round of drills. My arms still shook from holding a guard stance against Garron as he tested me with
